202 B.C. to 220 A.D.
The Han Dynasty
The official New Year’s date
It was the people of the Han Dynasty who set the official New Year’s date of the first day of the first month in the lunar calendar and had become more of a family occasion, staying up late and setting off the first fireworks ever to be seen! The Han Dynasty played a major role in expanding Chinese culture and influence. Looking towards the west, they established the famous trade-route, the Silk Road. Furthermore, the Han dynasty had undergone a shift in their religious practices, focusing more on nature in the form of Confucianism, the Chinese Zodiac was established and naming the years after animals became a thing! Instead of appeasing gods and ancestors, they would find spirituality and pursue cosmic harmony through ethics, morality, and self-worth. Family was also important, as they believed a strong family meant a stronger society. All this new way of thinking brought about drastic change to the way the Chinese celebrated New Year. The family would eat together, staying up long into the night, hanging peach wooden boards. Early versions of fireworks were also introduced. They were made from bamboo, which, when set on fire, created loud banging sounds as the trapped air would decompress and explode. This became an integral part of the government-sponsored celebrations to warn off evil spirits and the infamous mythical beast named Nian.